With each month bringing fresh details and announcements of retail mega-projects such as Mall of Arabia and Dubai Sports City’s Arena Mall, as well as vast developments in Saudi Arabia and across the region, few questions are asked about the skilled labour that will make them succeed.
Yet even before many of these projects are completed, increasing the retail capacity of Dubai significantly, industry insiders are already concerned about a serious shortage of skilled retail workers.
This skills shortage is across the spectrum of the retail workforce. Many retailers are in dire need of managers with solid experience, with hypermarket groups and non-food operators alike having to look further a field for their staff, and often having to promote people beyond their capabilities.
For one KSA-based retail consultant, part of problem is that the Middle East lacks a set standard of retail training and qualification. Wael Al-Hawari of Evision KSA is already working towards establishing a set training course and qualification that can be used by all retailers.
But the problem is also more far-reaching than a lack of training for management, and the industry is becoming more aware that humble shop floor staff also need to be better trained, and crucially, offered the chance to progress their careers to management level.
All too often, retailers make assumptions that expatriate shop floor staff are either simply not management material or that they are expatriates and are only in the region short-term. The effects of this mindset are now becoming apparent, and could become worse in the next few years if the problem is left unchecked.
What is your opinion of the skills of retail workers? Do you think the region needs a dedicated retail college and certification scheme? Have you faced problems recruiting the right staff?
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